Tag Archives: Setup

Is a New TV Necessary? 7 Simple Ways to Enhance Your Setup (Including Free Options)

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Do you really need to invest in a new TV? The allure of the latest features and massive screen sizes is strong, but exercising a bit of patience could save both money and the planet. You can enhance your viewing experience with some straightforward tips and tricks.


It’s understandable to feel Fomo. In the past, buying a new TV was typically only necessary when the old one failed completely. Back then, all TVs seemed quite similar, offering nearly the same features.

The landscape today is vastly different. Every year introduces a new selection of high-tech flat screens that surpass previous models in clarity. What was once a simple box is now a sophisticated piece of technology, often displayed on your wall as art.

But I can relate to your frustrations. It doesn’t take long for even the latest screen’s brilliance to feel a bit lackluster. My smart TV’s picture quality seems to fade, and its operating system feels sluggish with each passing month. Apps lag, and navigating menus seems cumbersome. And in the back of my mind, the thought of a shiny new OLED creeps in.

But is that truly necessary? I’m here to suggest that you can delay that purchase and enhance your TV experience with a few adjustments and perhaps some budget-friendly gadgets.

Upgrade Your Smart TV OS

One of the telltale signs that a TV is nearing the end of its useful life is its smart platform. All reputable shows today connect to streaming services and smart home functionalities, but as more advanced software emerges, older platforms naturally fall out of favor. If your streaming apps no longer receive updates and the interface feels sluggish, it’s a sign.

While it’s disappointing, your TV doesn’t have to head to the landfill just yet. You can breathe new life into it by simply adding an affordable streaming dongle. Devices like Amazon’s Fire TV Stick, Roku’s Streaming Stick, or Google TV Streamer, plugged into a spare HDMI port, can revamp your streaming setup with quicker interfaces, contemporary services, and handy voice search features.

Amazon offers both HD and 4K streaming sticks, with the basic 1080p option priced at £39.99 and the 4K model starting at £49.99.

Amazon Fire TV Stick HD

£39.99 on Amazon
£39.99 at John Lewis

Not an Amazon Prime member? Consider the Roku 4K UHD Stick instead. It provides a wide array of streaming apps and services for under £50. The Google TV streamer with built-in Chromecast serves a similar purpose at £99.

Roku 4K Streaming Stick Plus

£24.99 at Argos
£39.99 at Currys

Most TVs have a spare USB port for powering the stick, so you won’t even need an extra cable plugged into the outlet.

Alternatively, elevate your viewing experience by opting for Sky Stream. This compact device offers a full suite of premium Sky channels, including movies and sports, plus built-in apps like Netflix, Apple TV, Disney+, Prime Video, and UK broadcasters. The basic subscription starts at £15 per month and includes Sky Atlantic, Netflix, and Discovery+.

The innovation lies in its reliance on your Wi-Fi network, eliminating the need for a dish or antenna. Unlike traditional satellite boxes, it doesn’t come with a built-in hard drive—your recordings are stored on your personal video recorder (PVR) in the cloud, so you won’t run out of space.

Smart Tricks That Actually Work

It might seem unusual, but if you aren’t facing specific tech issues, consider adjusting the lighting in your room for an improved viewing experience. Rearranging lamps to avoid glares and replacing harsh ceiling lights with softer backlighting can create a more enjoyable atmosphere. Installing lights behind the screen can lessen eye strain and enhance perceived contrast. This technique, known as bias lighting, is used in professional settings.

For a bigger view, try moving closer to your TV. While it may sound odd, there’s a clear link between screen resolution and viewing distance.

In the era before HD, lower resolutions often justified a greater distance. However, modern 4K UHD and even 8K TVs feature such high pixel densities that you can sit much closer without eye fatigue.

Ideally, your couch should be placed 1.5 times the distance from the screen. For a 55-inch TV, this translates to a distance of about 2 meters. If comfortable, don’t hesitate to sit closer. Watching native 4K content provides you with richer detail and textures.

Best Times for Watching Movies with Lights On




Ambient lighting can significantly enhance the visual quality of some shows and movies. Photo: SeventyFour/Getty Images

If you enjoy dark, atmospheric films but find that your LED TV appears washed-out in low light, you don’t need to rush for an OLED upgrade. There’s a simple solution.

LED backlighting enables vibrant images under bright conditions, but in dim settings, it enhances the visibility of backlighting and softens the black levels. Watching your LED TV in a room with ambient light can lead to a more natural image, helping black tones stay genuinely black instead of gray.

Maximize Your Current Setup

If your TV’s visuals appear dull or unnatural, it’s possible that the backlighting may be weakening. For a quick adjustment, navigate to the settings menu.

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You’re likely viewing the Standard Picture setting, which is typically the default. Try switching to Dynamic or Vivid mode. This can enhance the colors in your visuals and give them more vibrancy.

Not All HDMI Settings Are Created Equal

If the image still seems muted, double-check your HDMI configuration. When consuming HDR content from external devices like set-top boxes, game consoles, or UHD Blu-ray players, an underwhelming visual experience may indicate that HDR isn’t being utilized.

[画像] or [一般設定] Check the HDMI settings in your menu. This is generally labeled as either standard or optimal (or enhanced). Selecting Optimal will let you view both 4K UHD and HDR signals coming from the source.

Conversely, if your HDR content appears too dark and you picked your TV up at a bargain during Black Friday, it may not possess the necessary brightness for effective HDR viewing (despite marketing claims). In this scenario, setting HDR to standard will yield a brighter overall image while retaining 4K resolution.

Enhance Your TV Audio With a Soundbar

If your TV’s audio is less than ideal and clarity is slipping, a soundbar could be the simplest and most effective upgrade.

It’s common for flat-screen TVs to produce mediocre sound quality. Even the latest models often struggle due to their slim designs, which leave minimal space for robust speakers, resulting in disappointing audio. A well-chosen soundbar not only increases volume but also improves clarity and creates a rich soundstage, restoring a full auditory experience missing from built-in TV speakers.

For smaller TVs (around 43 inches), the Sharp HT-SB700 is a solid choice. This Dolby Atmos soundbar, spanning only 640mm, delivers 140W and represents fantastic value.

Sharp HT-SB700

£89 at Tesco
£89.99 at Currys

For larger TVs, consider the £999 Samsung HW-Q990F. This impressive soundbar is 1,309mm wide, houses 23 speakers, outputs a total of 756W, and comes equipped with a wireless subwoofer and two wireless rear speakers for a fully immersive cinematic sound experience.

Samsung HW-Q990F Soundbar

£999 at John Lewis
£999 at Currys

When All Else Fails – It Might Be Time to Invest in a New TV

That said, certain scenarios warrant upgrading to a new TV. If it tumbles from its stand and you find yourself watching through what resembles 80’s retro visual effects, it’s time to recycle it (and we encourage you to do so) recycle electrical products.

Likewise, if the design feels outdated (I’m referring to those bulky TVs with absurdly wide bezels), an upgrade is justifiable. Wide bezels are unlikely to return to fashion. And if you’re truly drawn to OLED technology, I won’t deter you. The allure of OLED screens is so captivating that they can make even the dreariest TV shows seem appealing.

However, if your concerns stem merely from performance inconsistencies with your trusty older model or a desire for a smarter, interconnected user experience, considering alternative solutions may be a more prudent route to avoid an unnecessary major purchase.

For additional insights, check out our articles on when to upgrade your laptop and how to extend the life of your smartphone.

Steve May is an expert in technology and home entertainment, with over 30 years of experience covering all things television; from the slimmest, brightest screens to sound systems that rival commercial cinemas. When not delving into tech, you’ll often find him binge-watching series or organizing his Blu-ray collection.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Finally Got My Virtual Reality Setup Working: A Week of Work, Exercise, and Relaxation

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II’m writing this from a room slowly orbiting the Earth. Behind a screen that floats in front of me, through a huge opening where a wall should be, a planet slowly rotates and appears close enough to take up most of my field of vision. To my right it’s morning in Australia. The first vestiges of India and Europe are illuminated and dotted to my left. The soft drone of the air circulation system hums quietly behind me.

I spent a week using a virtual reality headset to do everything I could: work, exercise, compose music. This was the year that VR threatened to go mainstream as prices became more affordable and Apple entered the market. So I wanted to see how far VR has come since I first tried it in the mid-2010s, when the main experience was available. It was a nauseating roller coaster simulator. I used Meta’s latest model, called the Quest 3, and the conclusion was clear. This means it works now. It feels a little unfinished, but we’ve finally reached the point where VR is possible. It becomes really useful.

The biggest surprise was working in VR. This is not recommended. When you put on the headset, you can summon multiple screens, all connected to your computer, and make them as large as you want and place them anywhere in your environment. “Pass-through” – the ability to see digital objects superimposed on the real world, enabled by a camera built into the front of the headset – means you can cut out a window from the virtual environment to see the keyboard. You can also choose any number of work environments, from minimalist cafes to mountain huts, and switch between them at will. I quickly reached the point where if I was working alone, I would rather work in virtual reality than in real life.

The main problem is the overall lack of polish. The headset doesn’t feel like a finished product. It’s probably 10% too heavy, like a lab prototype that hasn’t been improved yet. The battery alone won’t last the entire day. Sometimes the controller disconnects without explanation. I brought it on a plane to do some work, but the challenge of connecting to my laptop using the onboard Wi-Fi proved insurmountable.

But watching movies in VR while flying was nothing special. Yes, I felt the need to apologize to my neighbor in a very British way. Wearing a headset in public has not yet become socially acceptable. But as soon as I pressed play, I realized I would never be able to go back to in-flight entertainment. I was sitting in a movie theater with the lights dimmed and several rows of seats separating me from a giant screen on a virtual wall. In long periods without turbulence, we really forgot we were flying. The one downside is that I was so engrossed in it that I almost missed the breakfast cart passing by.


“Today, the key to getting the most out of VR is to use it for activities you do yourself, even if you’re not a gamer.” Photo: Marissa Leshnoff/The Guardian

Of course, the movie theater was empty except for me – by design. Other apps are intentionally less sparsely populated. I downloaded one that promised a live virtual concert. Upon entering the virtual lobby, I discovered that there was no concert going on and no sign of one being scheduled. No problem. It also provided a space for people to mingle when acts weren’t performing. I loaded it. It was a beautifully designed virtual world, all domes and arches and curved slopes. But it was a ghost town. I was the only one there. And this is considered to be one of the most popular apps for live music on the internet.

When most people think of VR, they often think of Ready Player One. This is a science fiction novel and film about a world where people spend most of their time in a shared virtual reality, where they gather as avatars to interact, talk, and watch sports and music. together. This feels like a long way off. There are games that give hints about this group experience, such as “Gorilla Tag,” where children gather together after school to play tag as gorillas, talking to each other and moving around by waving their arms. However, VR adoption has not yet become widespread enough to make Ready Player One’s vision a reality. Now, the key to getting the most out of VR is to use it for activities you do yourself, even if you’re not a gamer.

For at least some types of knowledge workers, work is one such activity, and someone closely involved in the industry recently told me that it is considered the fastest growing use case. It is being I feel that productivity can be easily improved with VR. Gone is the office clutter, replaced by a calming environment that matches your mood for the day. Monitors that would cost thousands of dollars in the real world are displayed in front of you on demand. A virtual forest in the mountains is far better than the gray walls of my study as a place to sit down at my keyboard and write music. All distractions disappear from view.

Another thing is exercise. I was doing a personal training session in my garden, and a virtual trainer was floating in the air right in front of me. Passthrough, which was only recently added to Quest, is important here because it means you can use weights. This was not a smart idea in previous models as it completely obscured the real world. While many people have tried to join a gym temporarily and failed, it’s not unreasonable to hope that on-demand personal training at home might help them get back to exercising regularly.


Apple’s Vision Pro headset, launched earlier this year, was meant to be the starting gun for VR. That wasn’t the case. It’s a marvel of engineering and has magical uses, but it’s still lacking in compelling apps. £3,500 price tag For most people that is ruled out. Stories of headsets gathering dust or being returned have led some to believe that VR is nothing more than a hype bubble created by a tech industry desperate to find the next big thing.

But VR isn’t all hype. Sure, there are kinks that need to be smoothed out. But I think we’ve reached a tipping point. It’s really useful if you’re bringing this in for single player and something you don’t really use in public. Work, entertainment, exercise – everything is already great in VR. Don’t rely on tiny rectangular screens as a way for humans to communicate with machines.

  • Ed Newton-Rex is the founder of Fairly Trained, a nonprofit organization that certifies generative AI companies that respect the rights of creators, and a visiting scholar at Stanford University.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Upgrade Your Gaming Setup this Fall

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circleNow that summer is over and the skies are starting to turn grey in preparation for six months of rain, you might be thinking more seriously about video games. September and October are when we see some of the biggest releases of the year, so you’ll likely be spending a lot of evenings hiding from the world while playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 or Mario Party Jamboree. If your gaming setup is starting to get a little stale and you’re looking to give it a serious seasonal upgrade, here are some suggestions.

tv set

If you have a PS5 or Xbox Series X, you’ll need at least a 4K TV, but also a model that supports a 120Hz refresh rate, which provides super smooth and fluid picture quality in compatible games. Your TV will need at least one HDMI 2.1 port, and you’ll need a 2.1 HDMI compatible cable to connect your console.

Support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) lighting is also a must. This is a technology that produces more detail and color in both high and low brightness. Confusingly, there are multiple versions. HDR10 is the basic version supported by both PS5 and Xbox. However, if you have a Microsoft machine, you’ll also get Dolby Vision, which is basically an improved version of HDR. These days, almost all TVs have a special game mode or game optimizer that turns off unnecessary image processing effects to reduce input lag and improve response times, but it’s still worth checking exactly what the TV you’re thinking of buying offers in this regard.

Recommended: LG C4 Series




LG C4 Series OLED TV Photo: LG

I recently tested one of these for a month and really liked it. The C4 is LG’s latest mid-range OLED set, with amazingly sharp images, vibrant colors, and support for Dolby Vision, HDR, and a 120Hz refresh rate. I tested it with a variety of titles, from Elden Ring to Helldivers 2, and they all looked beautiful. The Game mode is particularly good, allowing users to tweak the settings depending on the type of game they’re playing. You can even connect your PC and use it as a monitor, with a 144Hz option and support for Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync technologies that help maintain smooth frame rates when playing demanding action games. If it’s a bit too expensive, the Samsung Q80D series is a very good alternative, but it’s hard to beat the LG C4.

monitor

If you play on PC instead of console and want to update your monitor, you need to think about the three R’s: refresh rate (the number of frames the display can show per second, measured in Hz), resolution (the detail of the image, measured in pixels), and response time (the time it takes each pixel to react to a change in the image, measured in milliseconds). What you need depends on the type of games you play. If you like fast-paced shooters, refresh rate and response time are the most important factors. If you like graphically rich adventure games, resolution is a key consideration. For general play, look for a model with at least a 144Hz refresh rate, 1440p resolution, and a response time of around 5ms.

You should also think about what type of panel your new monitor uses (VA, TN, IPS, OLED, etc., each with their own pros and cons – here’s a good guide. here), HDR, Nvidia G-Sync, AMD FreeSync, and other technologies.

Recommended: This one is tough. I still have my 5 year old Acer Predator and it still performs great, but I also have the much newer Samsung Odyssey, LG UltraGear and Gigabyte Aorus and they’re all great. Acer, Dell and MSI all make very capable low cost displays.

Headset

What you’re looking for here is comfort and quality, especially if you’re going to play for long periods of time. We also recommend noise cancellation (if you’re playing in a noisy living room) and support for virtual surround sound technologies such as Dolby Atmos. This not only enhances the atmosphere of the game, but also helps if you’re playing an online shooter and want to hear where your enemies are coming from. A good, clear microphone is also essential if you want to chat with friends while you play. You should also consider whether you want a wired or wireless headset and whether the model is compatible with your console.

Recommended: Audeze Maxwell (319 pounds)




Maxwell PS5 Photo: Audeze

Source: www.theguardian.com